ArrayList error, Exception in thread "main" java.lang.NullPointerException

Question

I'm very new to Java, and I seem to be getting some bizarre errors. I've looked everywhere for a solution, and all the solutions I've come across are identical to what I already have.

I've written a class to add a destination to an ArrayList, yet it's not working.

I'm getting this error: "Exception in thread "main" java.lang.NullPointerException"

Here's my code:

public void addDestination(String destination) {
    destinations.add(destination);
}

and the code for the data I'm trying to add to the ArrayList is this:

String temp = "test";
Agent smith = new Agent();
smith.addDestination(temp);

It quits the program in the method, and does not add the destination to the array list. Anyone got any ideas as to why? Thanks in advance.

UPDATE:
I'd initialised it to null in my default constructor, d'oh. Thanks everyone :-)

Whatever the case, your list should be initialized to new ArrayList<String>(). — Fritz
– Fritz, Commented May 6, 2013 at 18:00

Arnaud Denoyelle · Accepted Answer · 2013-05-06 17:59:59Z

3

A good practice in Java is to initialize your Collection to empty Collection instead of null in your default constructor.

answered May 6, 2013 at 17:59

Arnaud Denoyelle

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Max Vasileuski · Accepted Answer · 2013-05-06 18:00:48Z

2

just initialize your list

List<String> destinations = new ArrayList<String>();

answered May 6, 2013 at 18:00

Max Vasileuski

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James T · Accepted Answer · 2013-05-06 18:00:32Z

1

You likely did not initialize the ArrayList. The code would look something like: destinations = new ArrayList<String>();

answered May 6, 2013 at 18:00

James T

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